Previously it has been typical to use specially chartered ambulance aircraft for retrieving and returning an ill or injured person from a location of injury or illness back to his or her home location for treatment. However, such specially chartered air ambulance flights are extremely expensive, so that such medical return or recovery services have only been available to a rather limited range of people who had the financial resources or appropriate insurance to pay for such a service. In any event, such a service is cost intensive for the insurers providing such travel insurance covering illnesses, injuries or other medical emergencies of a person while traveling.
The publication "Aero International" August 1996, beginning on page 56, describes a patient transport system (PTS) with which it is possible to transport patients in ordinary commercial airline aircraft, and especially long haul aircraft. Such a patient transport system with the corresponding appropriate medical devices is provided for the observation and care of accident victims and seriously ill patients. It is embodied as a cabin which can be selectively installed in a passenger cabin of an aircraft as needed. However, to achieve this, twelve economy class passenger seats must be removed from the passenger cabin. Such a loss of passenger seats is sometimes not accept able to the airline for economic reasons.
For example, in the event of a fully booked flight, it is not possible to remove from the passenger cabin any passenger seats that have already been fully "paid for". In this case, it would not be possible to install and use a patient transport system on short notice, and thus the transport of the accident victim or the like would have to be delayed until a flight with available unsold seats is scheduled. This is problematic, because accident victims or seriously ill patients often require immediate transportation to an appropriate medical facility, as a matter of life or death.
Furthermore, up to the present time, it has not been possible to provide an adequate level of care for emergency or accident victims during a flight. If a medical emergency or other medical incident occurs during a flight, and medical care or treatment is necessary, the typical procedure is that the aircraft simply flies to the next available airport. Such an unscheduled intermediary landing and take-off causes several disadvantages or problems, for example that fuel may have to be dumped i.e. jettisoned, and that additional airport fees will have to be paid. Also, of course, a great inconvenience arises for all the passengers who suffer an increased delay and waiting time, and possibly missed connecting flights and the like. For these reasons, such a procedure necessarily involves additional costs for the airline.